Mail canceling and postmarking machine.



No. 673,604. Patented May 7, |901.

F. c. IELFIELD. MAIL GANCELING AND .POSTMABKING MACHINE.

(Application led Oct. 16, 1900.) (No Model.) v 3-Sheots$heet l.

No. 673,604.. Patented May 7, |901. F. C. IELFIELD. MAIL CANCELING ANDPUSTMARKING MACHINE.

(Application led Oct. 16, 1900.)

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Patented May 7, I90I.

(Application led Oct. 1B, 1900.)

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Nieren STATES PATENT rtree.

FRED C. IELFIELD, OF SILVERCREEK, .NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO COLUMBIA POSTALSUPPLY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MAIL CANOE-LING AND POSTIVIARKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent N o. 673,604, dated May'7, 1901. Applicationled October 16, 1900. serial. No. 33.260. (Nomodel.)

To all. whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED C. IELFIELD, a citizen of the United States,anda resident of Silvercreek, in thev county of Chautauqua and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mail Cancelingand Postmarking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a printing or markxo ing machine which is moreespecially designed for canceling and postniarking mailmatter and inwhich a suction-current is employed for separating the foremost piece ofa stack of mail or other matter` from the succeeding pieces preparatoryto feeding it to the printing or marking devices, the pieces beingsuccessively drawn by the air-current against the upright wall orface-plate of a snction-head which extends across the front zo end ofthe feed-chute and from Which the pieces are fed to the printing ormarking devices. A machine of this kind is shown and described in anapplication for Letters Patent of the United States filed by me on thez5 21st day of October, 1899, Serial No. 734,281.

One of the objects of my present invention is to provide the machineWith a positive and reliable time-stop or front-registering gage f whichinsures the proper registration of the 3o stamped front end of eachpiece of inailniatter with the die of the printing or mafk-A ing roller,regardless 'of the varying length ol' the different pieces ofmail-matter, so that the canceling-mark is invariably printed squarelyupon the stamp.

u My invention has the further objects to re' duce the contact areabetween the letter or other piece of mail-matter and the faceeplate ofthe suction-head for facilitating its re- 40 moval from the saine by thefeeders, to improve the construction and operation of the retardingdevice interposed between the'feeding and the printing rollers, toimprove the construction of the printing and impression rollers with aview of obtaining a clear impression, and to improve the machine inother respects.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of three sheets, Figure l is aside elevation 5o of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a top plan Viewthereof. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the machine. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal section in line 4 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a similar section ofthe front portion of the machine in line 5 5, Fig. 3, on an enlargedscale. 55 Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section in line 6 6, Fig. 2,on an enlarged scale. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary transverse verticalsection of the machine, on an enlarged scale, showing thehorizontally-swinging arm which car- 6o ries the yieldingimpression-roller. Fig. Sis a transverse vertical section in line 8 8,Fig. 2, on an enlarged scale.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several gures.

A is the horizontal table of the machine, which is supported on astationary frame, which may be composed, as shown, of upright end piecesor standards a and a longitudinal bar 0,', which connects the lower ends7o of said end pieces. The table is provided at the front side of themachine with a longitudinal feed-chute A/ for the matter to be printedor canceled and postmarked, which chute is formed by the surface of thetable and a longitudinal wall or partition a2, against which the stampedends of the pieces of mailmatter are squared, as shown in Fig. 2.

B is the upright stationary suction head or chamber, having itsface-plate b arranged 8o transversely across the front end of thefeedchute A. The pieces of mail-matter are successively drawn againstthis face-plate from the front end of the stack in the chute by asuction-current which acts upon the foremost piece through an openingb', formed in the face-plate, as shown in Figs. 2 to 5 and 8. Thesuction-current is induced by any suitable means-for instance, as shown,by a fan b2, arranged underneath the tableAand having 9o its eyeconnected with the suction-head by a pipe b3.

c is the main-driving-shaft of the machine, arranged vertically at thefront end of the same and supported at its lower end in a stepbearing c'and near its upper end in a bear/ ing c2, depending from the table. C isthe driving-pulley, mounted on this shaft. The fan b2 is mounted on avertical shaft b4, which is driven from the main shaft by a belt c3, roorunning around pulleys c4 and c5, secured to said shafts, respectively,as shown in Fig. l.

The canceling and postmarking devices receive the separated pieces ofmail-matter from the face-plate b of the suction-head and are arrangedabove the table A beyond the inner or rear side of the feed-chute A'.They consist of a horizontal printing-roller D, having suitablecanceling and postmarking dies d on its periphery and animpression-roller E,

between which rollers the pieces of mail-mat-r ter pass successively.

The printing-roller D is mounted on the upper end of the maindriving-shaft c. As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the body or main portion ofthe printing-roller, which carries the dating and cvtnceling dies, issegmental in form and projects beyond the remaining portion oftheperiphery 0f the roller, so that only the dies are inked. This rolleris provided at its lower end With a segmental flange d', which, iuconjunction with a similar opposing flange een theimpressiou-roller E,serves to feed the pieces of mail-matter on Ward. The flange d' of theprinting-roller projects slightly beyond the face of the printing-diesand runs in contact with the iiange e of the impression- 'roller whenthere is no mail-'matter between these rollers, thereby keeping theimpressionroller out of contact with said printing-face when the machineruns idle and preventing smutting of said roller and soiling of the backof the mail-matter running against the same. The separating-iiange ddoes not project so far beyond the die or stamp of the printingroller asto prevent the mail-matter from being properly canceled and marked, butextendsbeyond said face only about the thickness of a sheet ofwriting-paper, so as to al- 10W the impression to be delivered upon thethinnest mail-matter, and yet prevent the die from touching theimpression-roller and sm'utting the same While the rollers runidle.

In order to cause the canceling-ribs of the printing-roller to deliver agood impression upon comparatively thin mail-matter, theirnpression-roller is provided in its periphery With grooves ordepressions e', which are arranged directly opposite the raisedcancelingribs of the printing-roller D, and said ribs are raised to suchan extent that they project slightly into said grooves when there is nomail between the rollers, as shown in Fig. 6.

The impression-roller is mounted on the upper end of a vertical shaftj", which is journaled at the free end of a horizontally-swinging armf', pivoted upon au arbor depending from the under side of the table A,as shown in Figs. 4 and 7. The impression-roller is free to recede fromthe printing-roller for accommodating itself to mail-matter of differentthicknesses and is drawn toward the printingroller by a spring f2,attached at one end to the arm f' and at its opposite end to anadjusting-screw f3. This screw passes through au unthreaded openingformed in a 1ugf4, depending from the table A, as shown in Figs. 3 and4:, and is provided with a thumb-nutff, whichbears against the outerside of said lug.

ling it.

Upon turning this nut in one or the other direction the adjusting-screvvf3 is moved length- Wise in its opening and the spring f2is tensioned accordingly.

g is an adjustable stop which limits the forward or approaching movementof the yielding impression-roller. This stop consists of a longitudinalscrevtr which engages in a screwthreaded opening formed in a lug g',arranged on the under side of the table A, and which bears at its innerend against the front side of the swinging arm f', as shown in Fig. 4.The stop-screw g extends outwardly through the lug f4 and terminates ina knob for turn- By means of this stop-screw the forward movement of theimpression-roller can be limited to keep the same out of contact withthe printing-roller and at the same time adjust the Same at the properdistance from the printing-roller to print and feed thethinnest'mailmatter. The shaftof the impression-roller passes through aslot `@formed in 'the table and curved concentric With the shaft, andthe latter is driven from an upright shaft h', with 'which its lower-endis connected by a flexible or universal joint h2 of any suitableconstruction. The shaft h is in turn driven from the main shaft c byintermeshing gear-wheels h3 h4, secured to said shafts, respectively.

`I is an in'king-roller of any ordinary construction, which is heldagainst the printingroller by any suitablemeans.

K is a feeder'or stripper which removes the pieces of mail-matter'fromthe opening of the suction-head B and delivers the same to the printingand impression rollers. This feeder preferably consists of one or morerotary horizontal segments arranged in the suction-head and secured oneabove another to a vertical shaft k. rlhis shaft is jou rnaled in abearing 7c', depending'from the table, and is driven in the properdirection from the main shaft c through an idler k2, which meshes withgear- Wheels ks 7a4, secured tothe feeder-shaft k and the main shaft c,respectively, as shown iu Fig. 8. The idler k2 is secured to a verticalshaft, which turns in a bearing 705, carried by the table. The segmentalfeeder is projected through the suction-opening once during everyrevolution, so as to engage against the face of the foremost piece ofmail-matter and carry the same onwardly between the printing andimpression rollers, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The feeder-segments maybe coustructed of leather or soft rubber or provided with a facing ofsuch material, or any other suitable material forming a reliablegrippingsurface.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the inner wall 0,2 of the feed-chute Aterminates at a short distance from the face-plate of the suctionhead,so as to leave an intervening passage for the mail-matter, and thisface-plate eX- tends across the Width of the table to form a guide forthe mail-matter. The printing and impression rollers are arranged onopposite sides of this abutment, and the latter is pro- IOO IIO

-vided opposite the printing-roller with an opening, through which saidroller projects.

L, Figs. 2, 5, and 7, is a yielding retardingarm which is arrangedbetween the feeding mechanism an'd the marking mechanism `for thepurpose of allowing but a single piece of mail-matter to pass to therollers at a time and holding back any additional piece or pieces ifmore than one piece is separated from the stack in the feed-chute by theaircurrent and fed forward by the feeder, which may happen at times inoperating on postal cards or other thin matter. This retardingarm isarranged horizontally and is pivoted at its rear end by a vertical pin Zto a horizontal bracket l', which projects rearwardly from the partitiona2 of the feed-chute. The partition a2 is provided above the bracket l'with a horizontal slot or notch, as shown in Fig. 7, in which the frontportion of the arm plays. The arm is provided at its free front end witha retarding-face Z2, which extends lengthwise of the guide-plate b andstands in the normal position ofthe arm substantially parallel with saidplate. The pivot of the arm is arranged rearwardly beyondtheretarding-face in the direction in which the mail-matter moves towardthe marking mech-A anism and out of line with the retarding-face, thepath of the mail-matter lying between the retarding-arm and theguide-plate. This peculiar relative arrangement of the retardingface andthe pivot of the retarding-arln causes the latter when theretarding-face is struck by the mail-matter to swing backwardly in adirection opposite to that in which the mailmatter moves, and thisbackward movement of the arm brushes back any additional pieces ofmail-matter and allows but a single piece to pass by the arm. The latteris pressed toward the guide-plate by a spring Z3, and the movement ofthe arm toward the guide-plate is limited by a pin Z4, secured to thebracket Z.

M is a movable time-stop or registeringgage, against which the pieces ofmail-matter are registered before being allowed to pass between theprinting and impression rollers, so that the canceling lines orcharacters are printed squarely upon the stamp of the mailmatter. Thistime-stop consists of a horizontally-swinging rock-lever pivoted betweenits ends to a bracket m, which projects from the outer side of theface-plate b. The front arm of this lever extends inwardly through anopeningm, formed in the facci-plate, and projects during its forwardstroke across the letter-path at a point directly above the meetingportions of the printing and impression rollers,so as to form amomentary stop,against which the front ends of the pieces of mailmatterstrike before passing between the printing and impression rollers.

The rock-lever M is rapidly vibrated in one direction by a rotaryhorizontal cam fm2, which is secured to a vertical shaft m3 and bearsagainst an antifriction-roller m4, journaled on the rear end of saidlever. The shaft m3 is driven from the main shaft c through anintermediate idler gear m5, which meshes with gear-wheels m6 7a4,secured to said shafts. The rock-lever is vibrated in the otherdirecticn by a spring m8, connected at one end to the face-plate and atits opposite end to the rear arm ofthe lever. When the salient portionof the cam m2 rides over the roller of the rock-lever, it rocks thelever in the proper direction to cause its front arm to project acrossthe letter-path, while when the narrow portion of the cam is oppositesaid roller the spring rocks the lever in the opposite direction,thereby causing the front arm of the rock-lever to recede and allow thegaged piece of mail-matter to pass onward. The movement of this stop isso timed relatively to the speed of the feeder K and the printing-rollerD that the stop is projected when the advancing end of the die of theprinting-roller arrives opposite the impression-roller and remains inits projected position long enough to arrest any piece of mail-matterwhich is fed forward by the feeder whether long or short.

N is a receiving-chute which receives the marked mail-matter from theprinting and impression rollers and which is arranged in rear of thefeed-chute A' and parallel therewith. The table A forms the bottom ofthis chute, and its side walls are formed by the partition a2 and alongitudinal wall n.

O is a rotary stacking device which is arranged at the front end of thereceiving-ch ute N and which presses the mail-matte1"l: ack Ward in thesame immediately after a piece is delivered to the front end of thechute, and which recedes out of the wav before the delivery of the neXtpiece. This stacking device preferably consists of one or more volute orscroll-shaped cams secured horizontally to the shaft m3 above the tableAand terminating in horns o. During the rotation of these cams they areprojected through horizontal slots 02, formed in the adjacent portion ofthe face-plate b, and bear with their outer or face sides against thefront end of the stack of mailmatter in the receivingchute, as shown inFigs. 2 and 5. The stacking-cams project through these slots and pressthe stack of mail-matter backwardly during about one half of theirrotation and recede to the rear side of the face-plate during the otherhalf of their rotation. These` cams are so timed relatively to theprinting and impression rollers that the horns or salient portions ofthe cams are projected through the slots and caused to act upon thefront end of the stack immediately after a piece of mail-matter risdelivered to the receiving-chute by the printing and impression rollers,and so that the cams are retracted out of the way while the next pieceof mail-matter is beingdelivered in front of the stack. By making thestacking-cams ot' scroll form, with projecting horns or end portions, asshown, the pieces of mail-matter are delivered against the inner side ofthe horns or. end portions while the IOO cams are receding behind theface-plate, and the horns thus momentarily separate the front of thestack from thelast-delivered piece of mail-matter on the inner side ofthe camhorns, thereby leaving a free yand unobstructed space in front ofthe stack for the incoming piece of mail-matter and preventing bunchingor uneven stacking of the matter.

O3 is the usual receding abutment in the' receiving-chute, against whichthe mail-matter is banked in a well-known manner.

p represents raised horizontal ribs arranged on the face-plate andextending from end to end thereof. The mail-'matter bears against thecomparatively sharp edges of these ribs in passing from the suction-headto the stacker. These ribs reduce the friction between the' mail-matterand the face-plate and facilita-te the movement of the matter throughthe machine. These ribs also extend across the suction-opening a-nd bykeeping the mail-'matter out of contact with the at face of the platearound this opening prevent the pieces of mail-matter from adhering tothe face-'plate too strongly and enable the feeder to more easilyovercome the force of the suction and remove the pieces ofmail-matter.It sometimes happens that a letter becomes'crnmpled transversely at itsends before reaching the canceling and marking machine. When themail-matter bears directly against the dat face of the face-plate, suchacrumpled letter projects more or less into the suction-opening,

and its advancing end is liable to strike l against the front edge ofthe suction-opening and become buckled. By providing a faceplatewithprojecting ribs such a crumpled piece of mail-matter is carried clear ofthe edge of the suction-opening and prevented from striking the same.The portions of the ribs which extend across the suction-opening alsoserve as guards which preventsmall pieces of mail-matter from beingdrawn into said opening.

It sometimes happens that the stamped corner of an envelop or otherpiece of mail-matter is bent over, and when this occurs thefolded corneris liable t0 catch under' the printing-roller or the impression-rollerand cause buckling or tearing of the piece of inail-matter. Tol preventthis, the frontportion of the'table A, opposite the suction-opening band the feeder K, is raised slightly above the plane of the rear portionof the table on which the printing and impression rolle rs are located,and the lower ends of these rollers extend below the raised portion ofthe table, as shown in Fig. 8. By this construction the lower edge ofthe' mail-matter is raised above the lower end of said rollers, and apiece of matter having a bent or turned-'over corner cannot catch underthe rollers.

The operation of my improved machine is as follows: The mail-matter tobe marked is placed edgewise in the feed-chute A in an invertedposition, with the stamped side facing vthe face-plate and' the stampedends suction rangel of the air-current. The current acting upon theforemost piece of mail-matter separates the same from the stack anddraws the piece against the ribs of the face-plate, the

separated piece covering the suction-'opening entirely or partly andshutting off the air-current correspondingly. The piece is drawn againstthe face-plate and remains resting.

against the same until the feeder is projected i through thesuction-opening' and removes the piece and drives the same pasty theretardingfinger against the time-stop or registeringgage M, which latterprojectsV at this instant across the path of the mail matter. The tiine-stop now quickly recedes and allows the vprinting and impressionrollers to seize the piece and carry it forward between the rollers,thereby canceling and postmarking the piece. The marked piece is thendelivered into the frontend of the receiving-chute N by the momentumimparted to the piece by the rapidly-rotating printing and impressionrollers,- whereupon it is pressed backward into the chute by thestacker, asl hereinbefore described. The feeder isdriven at a'somewhathigher speed than the time-stop.

It wi-ll be observed that myimproved timel stopI is not tripped orotherwise actuated by the pieces of mail-matter themselves, but, on

v the contrary, is an independent stop which acts upon' the pieces andis positively operated by a moving partV of the machine. It is thereforepositive and reliable in action and effects the proper registration ofthin and flexible pieces of mail-matter, as well as of thick and stidpieces. This registering device is very simple in construction, notliable to" get out of order, exceedingly rapid in operation, and permitsthe machine to be run at a high rate of speed without liability ofbuckling or otherwise damaging the mail-matter.

I claim' as my inventionl. In a mail-marking machine, the combinationwith the mark-ing mechanism, of a `feed-chute, a suction-head facing thefeedchute and provided with an opening in its face-'plate into Whichanair-current is drawn,

i a segmental feeder arranged in said suctionhead and adapted to beprojected through said opening to move the separated piece ofmail-matter to the` marking mechanism, a

l time-stop arranged to vbe projected across the IOO IIO

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mechanism, and a feeding mechanism by which the mail-matter is moved tothe marking mechanism, of a pivoted retarding-arm havingitsretarding-face arranged in a plane longitudinal of the direction of thefeed movement and parallel thereto and having its pivot arranged beyondits retaiding-face in the direction in which the mail-'matter moves pastthe arm and out of line with the retarding-face, substantially as setforth.

3. The combination with a feed-chute for the mail-matter to be marked, amarking mechanism, a feeding mechanism by which the mail-matter is movedto the marking mechanism, and a guide-plate arranged between saidfeeding mechanism andsaid marking mechanism, of a pivoted retarding-armhaving its retarding-face arranged in a plane longitudinal of theguide-plate and parallel thereto and having its pivot arranged beyondits retarding-face in the direction in which the mail-matter moves pastthe arm and out of line with the retarding-face, substantially as setforth.

4. In a mail-marking machine, the combination with the feed-chute, of asuction-head having its face provided with projections which hold thepieces of mail-matter clear of the flat face of the suction-head,substantially as set forth.

5. In a mail-marking machine, the combination with a feed-chute, of ahead which faces said chute and which has its face provided Withtransverse ribs for receiving and guiding the foremost piece ofmail-matter, and a feeder which projects from said head and impingesagainst the piece of mail-matter resting against said ribs,substantially as set forth.

6. In a mail-marking machine, the combination with the feed-chute, of asuction-head facingthe feed-chute and having its face pro? stantially asset forth.

7. In a mail-marking machine, the combination with the feed-chute, of asuction-head and having its face provided with transverse ribs whichextend across said opening, sub stantially as set forth.

8. In a mail-marking machine, the combination with a feed-chute, of asuction-head provided in its face with a suction-opening and havingitsface provided with transverse ribs against which the foremost piece ofmailmatter rests, and a feeder which projects through said opening andimpinges against said piece of mail-matter, substantially as set forth.

9. In a mail-marking machine, the combination with the markingmechanism, and a receiving-chute, of a guide-plate arranged in rear ofthe marking mechanismand extending across the front end of thereceiving-chute and provided with ribs or projections which hold thepieces'of mail-matter clear of the flat face of the plate, substantiallyas set forth.

10. In a mail-marking machine, the combination with a substantiallyhorizontal support or chute for the mail-matter, of upright marking andimpression rollers arranged above said support or chute and extendingwith their lower ends below the level of the same, substantially as setforth.

Witness my hand this 11th day of October, 1900.

FRED C. IELFIELD.

Witnesses:

THEO. STEWART, GEO. H. SHOENER.

provided in its face with a suction-openingy f

